Love Praises The Dead
by Hayley-Fiona
Summary: After all these years of hunting, Dean breaks down. He leaves Sam behind, and he leaves his car behind. He tells Castiel to not worry about him, but the angel shows up to help the hunter. However, it may not be the way someone would think.


The hunter quietly shut the door to his car, looking at his beauty one last time. His eyes fell open his leather jacket, the note, and his car keys, and all were left for his brother. He took a step back from his car and ran a hand up to cover his mouth as tears welled in his eyes. He closed his eyes, sighing deeply as he did so, his eyebrows furrowed close together. He had kept in so much for all of these years, and he was overwhelmed by his emotions. They struck him as if he had been punched in the stomach, and it made him feel so weak and helpless. _Goodbye, Sammy, _Dean whispered, but his lips didn't move - he forgot to speak outloud. _I never got the chance to say it to you, but I love you, and you'll always be my little brother,_ Dean whispered again, his words so loud that they were silent. It hurt too much.

_You had demons to kill within you screaming_

_With a gun loaded with guilt you opened their eyes_

The hunter stopped walking when he reached edge of the bridge, and he looked straight ahead, his jaw clenched tight. Years ago, he told himself, _I'm okay, and Sammy is okay. That's all that matters. No questions asked._ He would of rather felt nothing than feel anything at all. He kept everything in, and it had ate away at him ever since he told himself this: _Don't cry._ He had felt the most intense pain and torture over these years, and he was so broken that he felt more alive killing in the darkness than saving people in the light up above him. His brother was his responsibility, and with that said, there was no reason for his brother to get hurt anymore than he already had. Both of them were broken, and Dean was beyond repair. _Don't save me, Cas, _Dean prayed to the angel, shutting his eyes as he stepped forward. With another step taken, his body crashed into the black, endless water below him.

_Love preys the living and praises the dead_

_In the heart of our hearts by death we were wed_

When the hunter crashed into the water, his body ached from the pressure, and his chest and head hurt the most, and the pain had made him more alert to his surroundings. He felt the cold air piercing through his skin, and he felt the depth of the water, endless and mysterious. He felt the cold water fill his throat, and he felt his body become tense. His eyes ached, so he allowed them to fall shut again, and he knew that he was alive for the moment. However, he didn't have enough strength to drag himself to the bank of the water. He couldn't do it. He wanted to disappear this way, naturally and slow - not quick and unnatural. He soon became limp, and he began to sink farther and father into the water, his lips turning blue. But his slow heart began to speed up a little faster when he hear the muffled sound of wind.

_He longed for me; it wasn't a prayer or command, _Castiel thought. He let his trenchcoat fall off of his shoulders and onto the ground, and he stepped into the cold water, swimming over to the hunter's limp body. "Dean!" the angel exclaimed, his voice rough and loud, filled with agony and pain. When there was no reply, the angel exclaimed his name again, "_Dean!"_ he screamed, diving into the water to retrieve the hunter's cold body. His eyes fell upon the blue lips of the hunter, and he searched the hunter's face for any sign of life. But his cheeks were pale and cold, along with his blue lips. The angel quickly pulled him back to the bank, placing the hunter on the hard ground, pressing his fingers against his forehead. He knew it was unnatural, and Dean wouldn't like it, but he didn't need Dean dying on Sam and him.

Color collected in the hunter's cheeks and lips, and he soon coughed up water, sputtering. His eyes fluttered open, and he blinked slowly, looking up at the angel above him. It took a moment for the hunter to realize what angel had saved him, when he told him not to. "Cas?" Dean asked, his eyebrows furrowing. He tried to sit up, but he was still so weak. "Why did you save me again, when I specifically told you not to?" he asked a bit harshly.

_If death is the answer to love's mysteries_

_Then bleed on my darling to the sound of a dream_

The angel looked down at the hunter, a bit puzzled, his head titled to the side slightly, drops of water running down the side of his face. He knelled down next to the hunter, placing his coat over the cold body, since he wasn't completely powerful as he usually was. The angel didn't reply to the hunter. Instead, he was quiet, his eyes focused on the hunter.

"_Cas! _Answer me!" the hunter yelled at the angel, his voice hoarse. He coughed up more water afterwards, becoming a little bit quieter when he spoke. "I have nothing to give you in return for how many times you have saved me, Cas. I have _nothing_. _Nothing at all_."

The angel furrowed his eyebrows to the statement of the hunter, his hands reaching down to cup the hunter's face, and he leaned closer to the hunter. "I saved you because I have fallen for you, Dean," he admitted, gently rubbing a thumb across the hunter's cheek. "_You're_ my weakness, and you have so much to offer to me. Your life is worth _everything_, and so is Sam."

The hunter's eyes widened, and he swallowed, unable to comprehend everything. He was so overwhelmed by pain that he didn't know if he could return the feelings ever again to Castiel. Dean's eyes filled with tears, his jaw tightening. "I can't feel love anymore, Cas," he admitted, looking up at him, his eyes on the verge of tears for once. "I know deep down that I need you and love you, Cas, but I don't know if it's my place to love you," he confessed, a hand reaching up to cup the angel's cheek. The tears escaped his eyes, rolling down his cheeks.

The angel leaned down, slipping a hand behind the hunter's back to pull him up closer, and he pressed his lips against the hunter's, allowing his eyes to fall shut for the small moment. Once the kiss began, it was over. "It is your place, Dean. Your place is in my heart and beside Sam," he told the hunter, pressing their lips together once again. One last time.

_Kiss and tell, baby we're bleeding well_

"We're done, Cas... we're all done," Dean whispered to Castiel, wrapping his arms around him.

"Our love is a sin, isn't it, Dean?" Castiel questioned, pressing his palm against Dean's forehead.

"To them it is," Dean said, pressing the angel blade through Castiel's back, and both of them collapsed.


End file.
